Improvement in abdominal supporters



AMA PHOTO-LITHD. G0. N.Y. (OSBURNE'S PROCESS) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISABELLA J. H. HOWARD, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN ABDOMINAL SUPPRTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,683, dated June 24, 1862.

y To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, IsABELLA J. H. How- ARD, of the city and county of San Francisco, and State of California, have invented a new and Improved Abdominal and Uterine Supporter; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which' form a portion of this speciiica- Figure 1 being a View of the front portion of said supporter, and Fig. 2 a view of the rear portion of the same, together with the strap b, which is secured thereto, and which receives and supports the labial pad d, when the extremity of said strap is secured to the front portion of my said improved abdominal and uterine supporter by means of the straps and buckles represented inthe drawings, or by any other suitable means.

The front portion, Fig. l, of my improved' abdominal and uterine supporter is applied immediately above the os pubis, and is usually about seven inches in Width. It is fitted to the shape of the abdomen and gradually tapers from the center of the os pubis each way toward the crest of the illium, and to a width of about three inches at the point, where its extremities are fastened by means of straps and buckles to the extremities of the back portion, Fig. 2, of my said improved supporter. For the purpose of enabling the said front portion of my improved abdominal and uterine supporter to more accurately and comfortably t and adapt itself to the varying shape and condition of the abdomen of the wearer when in a state of fullness, or otherwise, and also for the purpose of preserving a uniform pressure of the pad d over the labia under the varying conditions, as to fullness, of the abdomen, I insert a triangular piece, e, of some suitable elastic material, into a transverse slit in the center of the said front portion of my improved abdominal and uterine supporter, the said slit extending from the upper edge nearly to the lower edge of the same, as shown in the drawings.

The back part, Fig. 2, of my improved abdominal and uterine supporter is usually about seven inches in width, and of such a length and shape as to adapt it to the position whichit is to occupy upon the back of the wearer when it is combined with the front portion, Fig. 1, of said supporter by means of the straps and buckles represented inthe drawings.

My said improved supporter may be composed of morocco, or any other suitable material, and the portions of the respective parts of said supporter which are indicated by a, a and c c in the drawings may be rendered suffrciently stiff and elastic by means of fillings of sti leather, or some other thin, hard, and yielding material.

lVIy improved supporter is intended to be used by females in cases of prolapsus uteri and rupture, and the construction of said supporter is such that it gives an equal and uniform pressure over the uterus and the entire lower portion of the back and abdomen, thereby keeping the parts in their natural position and giving an opportunity for the healing process to proceed steadily. rllhe under connecting-strap, b, and the pad d are' especially important in severe cases of prolapsus uteri, as they give immediate relief and at once arrest the progress of the disease.

The pairs of buckle-straps g g, which serve the purpose of uniting the back and front portions of my improved abdominal and uterine supporterv to leach other by means of the buckles i z' and the straps h h, which serve the purpose of uniting the extremity of the strap b to the buckles j j, which are situated near the central lower point of the front portion of the supporter, are made of some elastic material, for the purpose of enabling the said straps to act, in conjunction with the triangular spring e, Fig. l, to produce an easy, constant, and uniform bearing of the hardfaced elastic pads a a and c c upon the desired parts of the person of the wearer, while at the same time the said straps and spring also cause the soft pad d to bear with constant and uniform pressure at all times over the labia of the wearer.

The hard-faced sheet-leather pads a a and c c afford the desired stay and support over the weak and diseased portions of a patient without injuriously heating the said parts.

Having thus fully described vmy improved abdominal and uterine supporter, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by The above'specieation of my improved ab- Letters Patent, is- A dominnl and uterine supporter signed and wi- The arrangement of the comparatively-hard nessed this 19th day of Merch, 1862.

and yielding pads a a and c c, the triangular ISABELLA J. H. HOVARD.

spring e, the strap b, the pad d, the elastic Witnesses:

straps g g and h h, and the buckles z' z' and j j, J A001; DE PUTRON,

substantially in the manner and for t-he pnr- WM. H. CULVER,

pose herein seb forth.. JOHN WADE. 

